Mylan’s president Tony Mauro elected chair of GPhA

Will lead trade body for US generics industry during important time for market

Tony Mauro, president of Mylan Pharmaceuticals, has been elected as the new chair of the US-based Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA).

Mauro, who previously served as the trade body's vice chair, replaces Watson Pharmaceutical's president and CEO Paul Bisaro and will serve in the position for one year.

Commenting on his appointment, Mauro said: “With growing populations, economic recessions and increasing healthcare costs, the need for widespread access to more affordable medicine has never been so great.

“The generic pharmaceutical industry, which accounts for 78 per cent of all prescriptions dispensed in the US, has played an important role in saving the US healthcare system and consumers an estimated $931bn over the past decade."

Mauro has been at Mylan for 15 years, holding several roles prior to president, including chief operating officer for Mylan Pharmaceuticals ULC in Canada, vice president of strategic development,North America, and vice president of sales, North America.

In his new role at the GPhA, Mauro will work closely with the group's president and CEO Ralph Neas, who has been active in representing the US generics industry with regards to ongoing drug shortage issues in the country.

The US the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recent generics user-fee scheme will increase funding for the regulator and should help it plough through a backlog of more than 2,000 generic drug applications.

This is an increasingly important time too for the global generics market, which is set to grow by $100bn over the next five years thanks to a raft of patent expiries and strong demand in emerging markets.